I would guess that you have both an SSI and and SSDI claim that were approved and that the SSI paid first. You should have two award letters: one says Supplemental Security Income on the top and the other says Retirement, Suvivor's and Disability Insurance. The RSDI award letter includes a paragraph that your retroactive benefits are being held pending a decision on the SSI. Now that SSI has paid, the amount paid from SSDI will be factored into how much of the $12K will be paid to you because of windfall offset.

If the SSA office is telling you that it is SSI, I would believe it.

Since the cap for SSI benefits is about $675 a month and I'm now getting $975 a month from SSDI, how could both be involved in my back pay or anything else. It goes against everything I've read here and the SSA website. I'm confused.

I got my SSDI all at once, and I do have SSD as well. You should be getting a letter by mail, that tells you how they set yours up. I got my check before the letter arrived and I didn't exactly know what was going on either until I got the letter. Glad you qualified. someone may know more than I do about this too. ginnie

The operative word in your post is "now". When SSI is computed, the actual income received is considered. When the windfall offset is computed, the amount of SSDI that SHOULD have been paid is considered. Until the SSDI is PAID, it is not counted as received. You just started receiving SSDI. Since you did not ask for your SSI claim to be withdrawn, it was processed for payment. The amount of SSI that you would not have received had your SSDI benefits been paid on time (decrementing for attorney fees if any) will be subtracted (offset) from your SSDI benefits.

You haven't answered the question about what your award letters state.

Have never received a letter from SSI yet, just my original award letter from SSDI. As I stated before, my back pay was beiing withheld upon checking on SSI payments (whcih I had no idea I would get, until reading your reply, which is starting to make sense). I didn't have a attorney, so that's not a isuue. Thanks for your input.